...but it's not "much bother" to run the control loop through the complexity of software? This seems to be the equivalent of overengineering in software, where something straightforward is instead performed through many layers of abstraction and indirection.

The straightforward way of implementing this with a bidirectional motor is to wire normally-closed limit switches in series with their appropriate direction signals, such that when the switch is actuated it prevents the motor from going in that direction, but it can still move away from the switch.